Plumbers & Pipefitters - Highest Average Earnings by Location

pipefitter001.jpgBeing a plumber or a pipefitter may not be a glamorous job. They may not make movies about them, but as far as tradesmen go they are right at the top of the earnings scale. The average plumber makes almost $50,000 a year nationwide with job growth at almost double the national average. If your looking for a new profession, plumbing and pipefitting is right up there at the top.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are more than 400,000 plumbers and pipefitters in the United States. Of course, average salaries depend upon level of skill, experience, type of industry, but they also depend upon location, i.e. which city you live in.

The following is a list of cities in the US with the highest average salaries for plumbers and pipefitters. Overall score takes into account not just the average wage but the cost of living in the city. While some cities may pay higher wages, the high cost of living offsets wages, that’s why you will not see such big cities as NYC and Los Angeles.

Gary, Indiana

For some, Gary, Indiana is nothing more than a suburb of Chicago. Perhaps so, but living in Gary does not bring with it that same high cost of living. At $77,120, Gary comes in way above the national average of $50,000 per year. Because of the high concentration of plumbers and the low cost of living, Gary tops the list with a score of 88.

Kokomo, Indiana

While trailing well behind Gary, Flint still comes in 2nd place on the list with an average salary of $67,010. This is $17,000 a year above the national average. Kokomo’s big advantage is that it has the second lowest cost of living in the entire United States. Kokomo also boasts of the 5th highest density of plumbers in the US. For these reason, Kokomo comes in with a score of 77.

Evansville, Indiana

With an average salary of $64,150, Evansville comes in 3rd place on the list. Evansville enjoys a high concentration of plumbers and a low cost of living as well. Score for Evansville: 73

See the whole list:

Rank
City
Median Salary
 Jobs Location Quotient Cost of Living Score
1
Gary, IN 
$77,120 
 1,860  2.68  86  88 
2
Kokomo, IN 
$67,010 
 230  2.19  82  77 
3
Evansville, IN 
$64,150 
 950  2.13  84  73 
4
Beaumont, TX 
$61,860 
 1,880  4.58  85  72 
5 St. Louis, MO  $68,850  4,790  1.44  86  66 
6 Fond du Lac, WI  $72,510  210  1.91  94  63 
7 Appleton, WI  $63,350  700  2.32  94  62 
8 Detroit, MI $65,510  2,370  1.3  84  60 
9 Flint, MI  $62,750  600  1.8  76  59 
10 Peoria, IL  $66,110  690  1.46  86  56 
11 Cedar Rapids, IA  $62,410  640  1.77  83  54 
12 Anchorage, AK  $67,440  840  1.86  135  54 
13 Baltimore, MD  $51,460  6,170  1.87  90  50
14 Bremerton-Silverdale, WA  $59,020  730 3.56  108  50 
15 Nassau-Suffolk, NY $87,510  4,550 1.42  160  50 
16 Champaign-Urbana, IL  $61,580  480  1.96  96  49 
17 Omaha, NE  $56,780  2,120  1.81  86  48 
18 Mt. Vernon-Anacortes, WA  $66,420  210 1.87  114  47 
19 Longview, WA  $63,370  170  1.9  100  46 
20 Kennewick, WA  $65,300  390  1.55  99  46